Doomwatch is the nickname for the Department of Measurement of Scientific Work. Under the leadership of Nobel Prize winning physicist, Dr. Spencer Quist, the Doomwatch team struggled, for three seasons, to keep an eye on the environment and supervise government and private sector research in an attempt to prevent pollution and other disasters that might be caused by the misuse of new scientific developments, discoveries and technology. While confronting dangers ranging from a plastic eating bacteria to hyper intelligent species of rats, from mind destroying sound waves to toxic wastes and genetic mutations, the Doomwatch team always found themselves under the gun, from unsupportive governmental superiors, and openly hostile corporations, and the powerful influences they could wield. The Doomwatch team initially consisted of Quist; former intelligence agent, Dr. John Ridge; eager young researcher Toby Wren; technician and computer specialist Colin Bradley; and secretary Pat Hunnisett.